Saturday, June 30, 2012

“My dream. . .my dream is to go all the way across this bridge. Beyond this bridge is outside of our jurisdiction. I can't drive this car to cross it. If I did, it would be a violation of policy. But, do you know that. . .there isn't anything special on the other side of the bridge. That, I know. I know. But when I'm on duty driving the patrol car and I stop by there. . . I feel like I'm going crazy. I feel like I want to charge out.”-Bong Sun (Me To, Flower!)
This first quote may not make sense to you if you haven't watched Me Too, Flower! or know what it's about. Bong Sun is stuck in the past. Her inability to forgive has caused her to grow angry and cold as well as keep her from moving forward into her future. The bridge is a physical representation of her desire to move on with her life. I've always been fascinated by dreams and their meanings. I have had the same dream at least once every few weeks as far back as I can remember-I fall off from high place, usually a cliff of some sort, and I fall for a few minutes before I hit the ground. Yes, I hit the ground and I always have when I have this dream. .Falling in dreams supposedly means that the person has no control in their lives which is true in several areas of my mine. I really like the fact that she has externalized her emotions. Her dream is quite simple but accomplishing it is a bit more difficult.“We still don’t have a single wedding photo. But we live every day, loving and being loved, living a magical life. Maybe being in love is a lot like swapping souls. May your soul have flowers that bloom, a cool breeze, a shining sun, and… once in a while, a magical rain that falls.” – Ra Im (Secret Garden)
I know, I'm killing you with my Secret Garden obsession. This show has so many great lines that it's hard to resist using it. Another thing that I love about Secret Garden is how great the ending was. I felt completely satisfied by where the characters ended up which is sometimes not the case with other dramas. This is the line that Ra Im speaks at the end of the last episode.

Honorable Mentions:

“When
I grew older, I thought I would become an even more special person.
But, it’s not true. I eat more and I know a lot more things but I
just become more pathetic. Is this what it’s like to grow old?”
— Eun Bi(Flower
Boy Ramyun Shop)

“It
doesn’t matter who, but everyone has a dark time in their life. I
think that everyone has at least one thing from the past they want to
bury. – Eun Seol (Protect the Boss)

“Someone
once said, that love is letting someone misunderstand you, because
that causes them less pain. If you love someone so much, even if you
had misunderstood, you wouldn’t explain. You don’t want to hurt
that person. You’d rather that person not get hurt, even if you get
misunderstood.” –
Ji Hyun (49 Days)

“Can
you hear me? While you’ve been away, I’ve thought of you every
day — but why do I only remember us fighting? Still, isn’t it
odd? I only remember us fighting and getting mad all the time, but
when I think about you, I laugh. You’re okay, right? When are you
going to come back and fight with me?” –
Jan Di (Boys Over Flowers)

“I
came to find your heart. I didn’t lose it on purpose “-Jan Di
(Boys Over Flowers)

“I
hope you will change your thinking that commoners’ pride can be bought
with money. People’s hearts can’t be bought either.” -Jan Di
(Boys Over Flowers)

“I
can see really far and hear very well, but since I can’t see or
hear you, you must really be far away. I’ve been living for so long
that I didn’t know how time flowed, but after I met you my heart
began to tell time. While I was with you, I would think, ‘Just a
little longer’ while the time passed really quickly. But without
you, time goes so slowly as I think, ‘I miss you.’ You know what?
It feels like my heart has been bewitched by you and counts time all
on its own.” –
Mi-ho (My Girlfriend is a Gumiho)

“The
body asks the heart, if I am in pain the doctor will cure me, but if
you are in pain, who is going to cure you? The heart replies, only I
can cure myself. Maybe that’s why, every person has their own way
of healing the pain in their hearts. Drinking, singing, throwing a
tantrum, crying, laughing, talking to a friend, traveling, running a
marathon. The worst thing to do is to ignore the pain in the
heart.” –
Sam Soon (My Lovely Sam Soon)

“I’ll
just live for today. For this moment, this day. That’s enough.
Without regrets.” –
Yeon Jae (Scent of a Woman)

“Han
Kyul told me not to work at the coffee anymore. But I don’t want to
give up my job there. Because… I need the money – that’s an
excuse… I love coffee too much – that’s an excuse too. It’s
so warm and great that I almost forgot that I’m in a lie. Now I
know I made a mistake. But I’m always hoping he’s there with me,
always wishing he would like only me. I’m not a guy nor a girl. And
I’m too scared to tell him.” – Eun Chan (Coffee Prince)

“I
told myself I couldn’t see you, but you’re someone who draws the
eye. But if I see you, it hurts and makes things tough for me. After
only living at the convent, I came to live in this land of stars and
was hit by electricity and lost my senses. I flew up right into the
heavens and then crashed down to the ground. Fireworks exploded in my
head and in one moment a thundering rainstorm crashed down on me.
Since I’ve left this star-land, I saw the path I am to live. I
would have to leave the star-land and just watch it from afar. If I
see the brightest-shining star close up, it’s so blinding to the
eyes that it hurts. That is why I am going to go far away.”–
Mi Nam (You're Beautiful)

“You
can’t even see anything properly! You’re well-off on your own, so
bright on your own that those around you can’t see in the dark! You
can’t see anything properly and you don’t know anything, so why
are you acting like this? Why are you angry with me, who’s just
trying to endure? Just leave me in the dark. Who asked for you to
look at me?” –
Mi Nam (You're Beautiful)

“You
can take care of her, because I’ll be taking care of you.”
-Ji Eun (Full House)

“I
really wanted to change after I fell for him. . . at the same time I
wondered why can't he like me for who I am?”-Eun Jae (Wild
Romance)Sources: Asiandramaquotes.wordpress.com, Kdramaquotes.wordress.com

Friday, June 29, 2012

Most of my favorite quotes are from Secret Garden and spoken by Joo Won. My favorite lines from the show come from the letter that Joo Won writes to Ra Im and when he is sitting in the car with her before driving into the storm. There are a lot of fantastic lines in this show but the letter and car scene are my favorite because of their emotional poignancy. Joo Won is writing the letter after he decided to switch bodies with Ra Im so she could live while he entered an eternal slumber-basically giving up his life for her.

“Don't
ever love any other guy, you live alone just thinking of me. Don't
get too close with Choi Woo Yeong (Oska) either. That would be
incest. Throughout my whole life, this may be the most selfish
choice.” – Joo
Won

“I
hope you’ll see the things I see. You’ll stand at the window
where I stand, and lie down in the bed where I lie down, and read the
books I read. If we could be together, even in that way… then
that’s enough. Let’s think of it as being together. That’s
enough for us to consider ourselves as happy as other lovers.” – Joo
Won

More great lines from Secret Garden

“She
drives like a car racer. If she witnesses someone’s purse being
snatched, someone she’s never met in her life, she’ll throw
fists. She has no money and her body is covered in scars, but she
doesn’t want to spend even one second of one minute with people
like us. She’s that kind of woman. I’ve never seen a woman as
cool as her. That… is my answer.” – Joo
Won

“Since
what age did you become so pretty?” – Joo
Won

“All
around the world there are 230 countries, and among those people I
can speak 5 languages. Nevertheless, I can’t find the exact word to
define our relationship.” – Joo
Won

“Open
your eyes. You did something strange and stole my heart, you made me
drink something strange and stole my body, showed up at someone
else’s party and stole even my lips. If it wasn't for that, there
is no reason for you to look so pretty in my eyes.” – Joo
Won

“Do
you need more miracles? There was already a miracle. A woman with no
decent family background, no money, no good looks, is someone very
special to someone who has everything. Isn’t that a miracle? Be
honest. When I was clinging on to you, I know you said “go away,
disappear”, but inside you were going KYA!!! Right?” – Joo
Won

“You’re
really pretty when you’re mad.” – Joo
Won

“I’m
thinking of doing everything now, including this stupid act of
waiting for someone in front of their house so you should do the
same. You have no thoughts of becoming the little mermaid, so that’s
why I’ll be come the little mermaid instead. I’ll be right next
to you as if I am not there and disappear like foam. So right now, I
am the one shamelessly hanging on to you.” – Joo
Won

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Let me start off this post with a little back story-my dad and I have been scaring each other and others as long as I can remember. When I was a little kid he would jump out behind me with a mask on (yes, he bought masks solely to scare people with-he never wore them on Halloween) and I would hide in dark corners and anywhere else I could fit my little body into. This habit only increased with age-he would wait in my room behind my door and I would then set up the kitchen faucet to spray him when he made tea. My aunt had 2 little girls whom never wanted to play hide n' seek with me because I would always scare them before they found me. Eventually my friends would discover this odd eccentricity because I felt it selfish to keep amongst family members. I came home and discovered my dad wasn't in his room but washing the outside of the sliding glass doors in the living room. I quietly slinked my way the edge of the sliding glass doors behind the curtain without him noticing. He slid the doors and came and and then I jumped from behind the curtain. A strange thing happened, there was a scream and a slight jump but accompanying these usual reactions was a more physical one-he punched me in the throat. I found the entire situation utterly hilarious and I can't stop laughing about it-my dad's facial reaction changing from surprise to concerned shock will forever be imprinted in my memory. But I probably won't stop scaring people-which means I may one day end up in the newspapers after getting stabbed accidently after scaring my grandmother.

I actually spent a couple hours listening to every ost (official soundtrack) of all the dramas that I have watched. I love more than one song from each of these shows but I decided to narrow it down. There isn't a question asking what your least favorite song is so I just included that at the end of this post.

"Paradise" The Melody from Coffee Prince

I know when I saw this question that I would choose a song from Coffee Prince, the hard part was deciding which one. This drama has the best soundtrack of any drama that I have watched-the songs are varied and unique and they are used perfectly throughout the show.

Honorable Mentions:

"That Man" Hyun Bin-Secret Garden

"Dreaming" Beast-Me Too, Flower!

"Because I Miss You" Jung Yong Hwa-Heartstrings

"Trap" No Min Woo-My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

"What Should I Do" Jang Geun Suk-You're Beautiful

Your Least Favorite from a Korean Drama OST

I picked two songs and surprise surprise they are both from the same drama. The drama guilty of this crime is none other than Boys Over Flowers. BOF was the first drama that I ever watched and although I love it because of the awesome catastrophe that it is, the show is definitely lacking. One of it's biggest problem areas is the music-or should I say the lack thereof and usage. The two songs that I chose were quite easy to decide on because you hear them multiple times in almost every episode. Not only are these songs used far too many times but also in inappropriate situations-Gu Jun Pyo is getting beat to death, now is a good time to play "Paradise." These songs actually became a source of unintentional humor throughout the show. It got to the point where I and whoever was watching it with me would start dying of laughter every time one of the two songs were played.

There are two ways to view this question so I will explain the criteria for both ways and then explain my choices. Who knew these questions would get so complicated?

This was really hard to answer because I have never shipped a secondary female love interest. Most of the time the second lead females are cut from the same cloth-they're selfish, mean, manipulative and basically made to be hated. I wanted to pick a third wheel female character that (1) I actually liked and had some redeeming qualities and that (2) I thought might have made a good pairing with the male lead. This knocked a lot of contenders off the list and here's what I came up with.

Oh Min Ji: Boys Over Flowers

The main reasoning behind this choice is the fact that she had such great chemistry with Lee Min Ho, almost too much. She was cool, pretty, friendly, and like Jan Di, knew how to put Gu Jun Pyo in his place. They honestly would have made a great couple, except for the sad fact that Jun Pyo only had eyes for Jan Di.

Min Ji really did like Jun Pyo and could have married him. But instead she chooses to let him go back to Jan Di and takes the blame for the wedding being called off. She pulls off the impossible-being a likable secondary love interest.

Ha Hyo Eun: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

Hyo Eun was an extremely cute and sweet character. She fell for Lee Sun Joon at first sight. It was sad to see Hyo Eun trying so hard to win Sun Joon's affections but he was battling his unwanted feelings for Yoon Shik. She wasn't mean or hateful and she didn't intentionally reveal Yoon Shik's secret identity. Hyo Eun stands out from other secondary female leads because she was honest about her feelings and bore Lee Sun Joon no ill will when he didn't like her back. A third wheel female character may also just be a character that I enjoyed but never had a chance with the male lead. This allows for multiple choices that may have been excluded from the aforementioned criteria.

Yoon Seul in Secret Garden

I decided to look at the answers of others regarding this question because I was having trouble with it. Yoon Seul was an extremely popular choice. She wouldn't fit the criteria for the first set of choices because she never really had a shot with Joo Won-they were both in love with other people. She was hurt from her relationship with Oska so she decided to forget about love and enter into an arranged marriage. Joo Won was the best candidate but after a few attempts she gave up on that road. She eventually became a supporter of Joo Won's and Ra Im's relationship-deflecting girls trying to get close to Joo Won, being a witness to their marriage and even decorating their bedroom for their first night as a married couple. Seul is sarcastic, beautiful, independent and just basically all around awesome.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I admit it, I have been a second shipper multiple times and I will probably continue this bad habit far into the future. I know that the main couple is always predetermined and completely obvious to the viewer and that the second romantic leads only serve to cause angst and separate the main couple or else most dramas would only be 3-5 episodes long. But every now and then I find myself hoping beyond hope that the second lead gets the girl.

Moon Jae Shin-Sungkyunkwan Scandal

I love Sungkyunkwan Scandal, it is a great show and it will always be in my top 10-however it might have actually taken the first spot if Jae Shin and Yoon Hee had ended up together. Yoon Hee and Sun Joon are a cute couple and they definitely had great chemistry but I just found her relationship with Jae Shin so much more interesting. Jae Shin is the damaged bad boy with a heart of gold who risks everything to fight for his beliefs. . . . and he's beautiful.

Honorable Mentions

Yoon Ji Hoo: Boys Over Flowers

I know, I know, I know. I read the entire manga series and watched the anime before I saw this show. I knew what was going to happen-but did that stop me from becoming a Ji Hoo/Jan Di shipper? Absolutely not. If you're someone's freaking soul mate that means that you get married and have lots of babies-not stay bestest friends forever (F*@k you Dawson's Creek)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Go Eun Chan was such a great character, Yoon Eun Hye actually made the tomboyish character masculine which is quite impressive. I have seen several films and shows where a girl tries to pass as a male and completely fails. Off the top of my head I can think if 2 Korean dramas where a girl tries to pass as male-Sungkyunkwan Scandal and You're Beautiful. In both instances the female character is clearly female, she looks feminine and continues to act feminine. The character of Eun Chan appears masculine by looks (no makeup, no jewelry, short and messy hair, baggy clothes, etc.) and actions (the way she walks, talks, sits, eats, etc.) She can actually be mistaken for a male. I love the fact that she looks so uncomfortable in dresses and high heels. When she has her Cinderella makeover and looks like a totally different person she still retains her inner Eun Chan.

Although Eun Chan lacks a lot of commonly desired feminine qualities-she more than makes up for it with her humor, strength, determination, kindness and loyalty. She is definitely one of the most unique heroines in dramaland.

The more dramas that I watch, the more my top 10 list changes but my top 3 spots never alter and I don't believe they ever will. Secret Garden was one of the first dramas that I watched and it still remains my favorite after 6 months and 20 dramas later. It wasn't perfect but it did so many things well-the story, the cast, the acting, great chemistry between the leads, even the secondary couple was amazing. I could go on and on but I won't-Secret Garden definitely deserves all the hype it gets and if you haven't watched it yet I highly suggest you do.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

I will do an update every few weeks about the dramas I'm currently watching and what I think of them so far. I tend to jump around a lot so I am currently working on quite a few.

Me Too, Flower! (2011) Korean drama starring Lee Ji Ah and Yoon Shi-yoon. I am on the 12th episode out of 15 so I am almost done with this one and I really love it-although I still don't understand the title. It's about a female police officer who's depressed and a rich man who's tormented by his past. I really admire the fact that this drama deals so openly with the subject of depression-it's a main theme within the show. I plan to do a more in-depth review soon but I highly recommend watching this one. Watching this on dramafever.com

Scent of a Woman (2011) Korean drama starring Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Wook. I freaking love both of these actors and I have been trying to watch all the dramas and movies that they have been. The plot centers on a woman who has just discovered that she has cancer and her doctor only expects her to live for about 6 more months. She decides to quit her job and fulfill her bucket list before time runs out. I'm on episode 8 out of 16 so I'm halfway done and I've already shed a few tears. I've read from other reviewers that this drama loses steam about halfway through but I have faith in Sun Ah so I'll see it through.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (2011) Korean drama starring Lee Chung Ah and Jung Il Woo. The story focuses on a graduate student trying to run a ramyun shop and a rich high school student that works there. This is a really hyped show and I find that most of the time nothing can live up to it's praises. I am on episode 5 out of 16 and I am enjoying it so far. It's funny but it also has depth, I really didn't expect to be crying during the 3rd episode. I withhold judgment until it's finished but I don't love it yet. Watching this on Hulu.

Protect the Boss (2011) Korean drama starring Choi Kang Hee and Ji Sung. A woman becomes the secretary of an eccentric and immature director at a company who quickly falls in love with her. I am on episode 11 out of 18 and this show is actually really funny. I plan to do a full review when I complete it. Watching it on Netflix.

Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy/Hello My Teacher (2005) Korean drama starring Gong Yoo and Gong Hyo Jin. A woman returns to the high school she was kicked out of 6 before to become a teacher. She gets the job on the condition that she watches over the principal's stepson. I'm on episode 4 out of 16 and I like it a lot. I am obsessed with Gong Yoo ever since watching him in Coffee Prince (fantastic show by the way) and he is equal parts funny and charming in this role as a high school student. Watching this on Mysoju.com.

Bottom of the 9th With 2 Outs/Two Outs in the Ninth Inning/ Two Outs, Bottom of the 9th Inning/ 9 Ends, 2 Outs (2007) Korean drama starring Park Soo Ae and Lee Jung Jin. The story follows a 30 year-old man and woman who have been best friends for years but their relationship becomes strained after they decide to live together. I just recently started this but I like it-you can never go wrong with a cohabitation drama. Watching this on dramafever.com.

Mars (2004) Taiwanesedrama starring Barbie Hsu and Vic Chou from Meteor Garden. I read the manga years ago and really liked it but I was surprised to see a drama based on it considering the somewhat darker themes that you don't come across too much in dramaland-suicide, rape, mental illness, etc. I like it so far and I think Vic is really good in it. On episode 6 out of 21. Watching this on Youtube.

Fated to Love You (2008) Taiwanese drama starring Joan Chen and Ethan Juan.The plot centers around a young career woman who ends up sleeping with a total stranger while on a cruise-she took a lot of cold medicine and wandered into his room, he was drugged-and she ends up pregnant. I'm not sure what I think of it yet, I'm only on episode 4 out 21 so it might pick up. Watching this on Youtube.

Devil Beside You (2005) Taiwanese drama starring Rainie Lang and Mike He. The plot focuses on a high school girl who mistakenly gives a love letter to the wrong guy-a devil (basically a bad boy)-who turns out to be her future step-brother. Out of all the dramas that I am watching this one will be the hardest for me to finish. I am on episode 6 out of 20. I am not a fan Rainie Lang-she looks like she's 12 and her acting makes me cringe. She's in quite a few popular Taiwanese dramas but I won't be in a rush to watch those. Watching this on Youtube.

What I Plan on Watching Next:The King 2 Hearts
The Princess's Man
Queen In-Hyun's Man
City Hunter
Lie To Me
Best Love/Greatest Love
Big
I Do, I Do
A Gentlemen's Dignity

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Or
so I assume but I have heard that crack is quite addicting. I had
watched foreign films before-I remember watching Like Water For
Chocolate when I was in elementary school (if you've seen that movie
than you know how vastly inappropriate that was) but I had never
watched any foreign tv shows aside from anime. I was on Netflix back
in February looking for something to watch-mind you that I had a
completely full instant queue-and I saw Boys Over Flowers was
suggested for me. I played the first episode and a new obsession was
born. I will do an actual review of BOF in a later post but I do
actually love it despite it's many glaring flaws. I quickly finished
all 24 hour long episodes and immediately started to search for more.
I spent the next several months watching Meteor Garden, Playful
Kiss, Secret Garden, Coffee Prince, and about 15 more full series and
about 20 movies. I haven't watched a tv show in English for awhile
now. I don't even fully understand this addiction but I will try to
explain it. I feel like asian dramas-more specifically Korean,
Japanese and Taiwanese- are like a weird combination of lots of
different film genres. Most are about romance but some have elements
such as comedy, mystery, friendship, family, horror, sci-fi, etc. I
always feel like I'm watching a really long movie rather than a tv
show. I will use the Korean dramas that I have watched as an example
because I have watched far more of those than any other. Korea has a
pretty conservative culture and that is prominent in most dramas. I
love the fact the that the first kiss is so important and often a
focal point in many dramas. Time is spent on developing the
relationship before anything physical every happens. I like romance movies, but nothing annoys me more than the main couple having sex super early on in the movie. I'm sorry but that's not romantic in the slightest. It may be an outdated way of thinking but I like there to exist tension and emotions before anything physical happens-it makes the physical actions actually mean something. Although I love them there are quite a few things that I don't like that seem to happen in most dramas but again it might be the culture that I'm not familiar with. The wrist/arm grab has been used in every single drama that I have watched and I worry that many of these actresses may have to get surgery years from now due to their arm and wrist getting jerked and grabbed hundreds of times. I have never had my wrist or arm grabbed by a guy but if he did I would probably punch him in the face rather than look at it as a romantic gesture. I know that this has to do with the male being more aggressive and powerful but it still irks me. Thankfully female characters are beginning to become stronger and more independent so I can let this con slide. Piggyback rides-I don't get it at all so I won't even attempt to explain it. Bathroom humor-I hate this one the most. Whenever I watch a Korean drama or movie that features such a scene it immediately turns me off of whatever else is going on. I have never been amused by gross humor but thank goodness this element is not used in most dramas. I absolutely love asian dramas and I think I will continue to watch them for quite awhile. I may take a break soon to catch up on all my other shows and movies that I have neglected for several months but I will always come back. I will be posting some drama reviews and recommendations so keep checking back.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hi, if you are reading this you are awesome and I would like to thank you for doing so. This is my first time blogging and I hope I eventually get the hang of it. I am 26 and a full-time college student. I have never really had a job so basically I am poor 90% of the time. I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life yet but all I know is that I want to be happy. I am extremely introverted which means I have few friends but plenty of time to devote to all my hobbies and interests. The few friends I do have are amazing individuals, I would rather have 5 great friends than 100 casual acquaintances. I plan to post an introduction to all of my main interests everyday and by next week I will start posting reviews, hauls, favorite lists of each interest and so on. I am currently living at home after a disastrous school year that I may or may not go into at some point. I am using the summer to think about things and decide what the next step in my life should be, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Where Else To Find Me

About Me

I'm still trying to figure what to do with my life but in the mean time I like to blog. I will mostly share my interests which includes movies, tv shows, books and random stuff about my life. Stick around because it may get interesting.